Experiment Brady
by EveKnight75
Summary: The Bradys have won a free vacation to a private resort, unaware of the fact that they are actually part of a government study. BRADYCEST MikeCarol, GregMarcia, PeterJan, BobbyCindy. ON HIATUS. Explanation in author's notes at beginning.
1. Agent Alice

My disclaimers and author's notes tend to be long, so I'll put the basic disclaimer and author's notes here. Any author's note or disclaimer factor specific to a chapter will be posted above the actual chapter itself.

Title: Experiment Brady

Genres: Romance / Supernatural / Conspiracy

Plot: The Bradys have won a free vacation to a resort on a private island for the entire summer. They are unaware of the fact that they are actually part of a scientific government research study regarding consensual incestuous behavior in combined families. There will be a supernatural influence involved in affecting the results of the experiment.

I do not own the Brady Bunch and I'm not earning any money for this fic. Everyone knows that. I'm just borrowing them for the purpose of this story. I did not invent the concept of Bradycest either. There are a lot of people out there in the world who saw the potential for Bradycest long before I was born. In fact, there are step-siblings out there who are attracted to each other. Some even have the courage to form a consensual sexual relationship. This does not occur on an average basis, but it does occur.

The Brady Bunch is well-known for having inconsistencies. They were always hanging by a thread during the original filming years, so I can't blame them. I've taken the liberty of playing around with everyone's ages, but stuck to the age hierarchy that remained on the show. I've also made changes to the character's appearances, because the story takes place roughly two years after the series ended. I'll go over any important changes throughout the duration of the story.

Anyone involved in running the experiment are my original characters, except for Alice of course. The story premise is also my idea. The island and resort were created in my head. The entire plot line and the entire story was written by me. Therefore, it is my intellectual property according to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. I've researched that treaty thoroughly and I know what I'm talking about. The Internet has already started it's mention in this convention.

At the moment, this fic is on hiatus. For further news on why this fic is on hiatus at this moment, please visit my LJ. The links are included in my author profile.

I suppose that's all that needs to be said for now. If you have read this, good for you. You shall be able to avoid certain questions in your reviews that I shall not answer because they have already been explained on this page. The information this page gives you also will allow you to enjoy the story more thoroughly. Now start reading the story. You've earned it.

* * *

The concept of Alice being a government agent may have been thought up by someone else before. If it has, the credit goes to them. If not, Sergeant Emma inspired me.

* * *

It was the middle of a Saturday afternoon in downtown Los Angeles. The streets were full of life despite the fact that it was a sweltering summer day. Most people were leisurely going about their business heading towards an air-conditioned destination. No one really paid attention to the elderly woman entering the post office holding a purse and letter in one hand and the door with the other. After all, it was completely commonplace, wasn't it? 

Why would they notice the graying brunette in the green dress clutching the handle of the door till her knuckles turned white, or the way the letter trembled in her hand, or the shakiness in her slow steps? It wasn't obvious that she was nervous beyond belief. She was only entering a post office, but it was a matter of trepidation. She slowly walked up to the "Return to Sender" counter and shoved the envelope under the glass. The woman on the other side of the glass was disinterested at first, but that rapidly changed when she saw the letter.

The postal worker asked for a piece of ID, then she closed up the booth and exited through the side door.The elderly woman followed the postal worker to the back, away from the vision of the crowd. The crowd wasn't paying attention anyway.They didn't notice the woman jump at the sound of the employee's voice, or how she kept glancing furtively around her to see if indeed anyone was paying attention to her.

The two women finally reached the back, where the postal worker took out a huge ring of keys, and unlocked the door to a female washroom with an "OUT OF ORDER" notice stuck to it. When the door swung open, a sink was visible, and there was a door on the other side. There was no toilet in the room for some odd reason.

"Just go through that other door and conduct your business there." The postal worker left the elderly woman alone and shut the bathroom door behind her on the way out.

The elderly woman sucked in a deep breath to calm her nerves, and swung the door open. On the other side, there was a large, well-lit room with a wooden circular table and 4 chairs. There were 2 men and a woman seated at the table already with several papers in front of them and an empty fourth chair. The three people looked up at the entrance of the fourth and gave her professional smiles. One of the men stood up and approached Alice.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Nelson. Please sit down and relax. You're not in any trouble if that's what you're worried about."

Alice Nelson relaxed visibly at this man's gentle attitude. None of these people seemed to be dangerous, and the wooden table certainly helped soften the atmosphere. The man pulled out a chair for Alice, who thanked him as she sat down. The man returned to his seat next to her and Alice was left facing the other woman.

The other woman gave Alice a smile and commenced the meeting. "Well Ms. Nelson, the three of us know who you are and why you're here, so it's only proper that we introduce ourselves. I'm Ms. Alastar and I'm a judge who deals with primarily family law. I usually handle unusual cases, involving marriage, divorce, custody, and adoption. I'm licensed in 15 states but I've only sat as a judge in 8 states, including Utah."

The man who escorted Alice to her seat continued. "I'm Mr. Soltek and I have a long history as a social worker. I've worked with families and unplaced children in Los Angeles, New York, and various small towns throughout Washington, Florida, and the Midwestern States. My expertise with children and families with problems is why I am at this meeting."

The third man finished off the introductions. "I'm Mr. Gryphin and I'm a social research scientist. I've been the head of research for many studies regarding family units and interactions between different members of a family. I think you've noticed by now what we all have in common. All three of us have worked closely with many families in general and are considered to be at the top of our fields. Research studies regarding family is the very topic we are here to discuss, and the United States federal government believes that you would be a valuable asset to our project in providing insight. The number of years you have worked as a full-time housekeeper for a large family deems you an expert in the field."

Alice just sat there in shock for a minute, and then found her voice and managed to stutter out, "I'm flattered that you believe that I'm an expert in families. I mean, I do come from a large family, and I've been working for the Bradys for years. But I've worked only for the Bradys for a long time. Before that, I used to work short-term jobs in housekeeping. I'm hardly an expert - "

Mr. Gryphin cut her off. "That's precisely what we're looking for. The Bradys are a large family and you've worked for them for many years. In fact, they consider you yet another part of the family, isn't that correct?"

" I suppose it is. What does that have to do with this project you mentioned?"

"Why don't I read out the statistics we have regarding the Bradys and you can verify them. We can explain the project more thoroughly after that," Mr. Soltek replied. "According to the files, the Bradys are a combined family. Is that correct?" Alice nodded her head.

"The father of the family is Michael Brady, aged 45. he has 3 biological sons from his first marriage. The oldest one is Gregory Brady, aged 19, currently pursuing his post-secondary degree. The middle son is Peter Brady, aged 16, currently in high school. The youngest son is Robert Brady, aged 14, currently in middle school."

"That's correct, yes." Alice tried to look at the file in front of him but she couldn't without being too obvious.

"The mother of the family is Carol Tyler Martin-Brady, aged 43, she has 3 biological daughters from her first marriage. The oldest one is Marcia Martin, aged 18, currently pursuing her post-secondary degree. The middle daughter is Janice Martin, aged 16, currently in high school. The youngest daughter is Cynthia Martin, aged 13, currently in middle school.

"Actually, their last name is Brady. The girls changed their last name after the marriage."

Ms. Alastar frowned. "I see. Did the girls have their name legally changed?"

Alice had to think about that for a few minutes before replying. "No, I don't think that they did. Not that I can remember anyway."

"Then legally, the girls' last name remains Martin so our files are correct." Alice was about to protest but Ms. Alastar cut her off. "The girls' last name has not been changed legally, but they can do so afterwards if they wish." There wasn't much Alice could say in retaliation, so she kept quiet.

"I'd just like to clarify these statistics with a few more facts. In order to do so, I'm going to have to ask you a few more questions about the family. Is that all right?"

"Sure, ask me anything."

"All right then. I'm going to put this photo chart in the middle of the table as my first display. The first thing that I've noticed is that when I separate the two halves of the family, they match up perfectly into pairs." The chart did indicate that. The females formed a vertical line on the left in order of age, Carol at the top and Cindy at the bottom. The males formed a similar line on the right, with Mike across from Carol and Bobby across from Cindy.

"How far apart in age are the children indicated in each pair?"

"Greg is a year and a half older than Marcia, Jan is three months older than Peter, and Bobby is a year older than Cindy."

"All right, I'll just fill that in here." Ms. Alaster drew lines to form the pairs, wrote each adolescent's age next to their photo, and wrote down the age difference in the center. Alice was so busy watching Ms. Alastar mark the chart, and glad that they were letting her see their notes, that she didn't notice the two men on either side of her scribble down notes of their own.

"How would you describe the relationships between the members of each pair?" This inquiry had come from Mr. Gryphin. "Please try to give us as much information as possible. Don't mind if I write a few things down. It's a habit of mine. You can even look at the notes regarding their interactions afterwards if you like."

"Oh no, it's all right. I understand that. I'll decide whether or not I want to look at the notes later."

"All right then. I'll just flip over a new page to start my notes. Begin with Greg and Marcia. How do they get along with each other?"

"Well, in general, they get along fine. Most of their conflicts center around women's rights. Greg's a bit of a chauvinist and Marcia is very vocal about gender equality. They usually don't have too many problems with playing the oldest sibling rule - they usually share the role, like babysitting the other four together."

"What kind of people do they usually date? Do they ever express dislike towards the other's date?"

"Both Greg and Marcia were popular in high school, and dated other popular kids. Greg usually had issues with most of Marcia's boyfriends, and Marcia despised a few of Greg's girlfriends."

"What about their physical types?"

"Greg usually liked tall girls with nice legs. Marcia had a thing for football players."

"I see. Moving on...Peter and Jan. Same questions."

"Both of them have what I refer to as middle child syndrome. They tend to be overlooked by the rest of the family because they're forced to live in the shadows of their older blood siblings and they're not as cute as their younger blood siblings. I can relate - I'm a middle child myself. They don't exactly have much of a relationship, but they respect each other through their middle-child conflicts."

"Dating habits."

"Neither of them date that much, but I know that Peter prefers busty blondeswith blue eyes and Jan prefers boys with dark eyes and darkish hair. They never have problems with each other's dates, but then again, they're not close enough for that to occur."

"Bobby and Cindy."

"Bobby and Cindy used to play together often when they were younger. There was a brief period when Carol's nephew came to stay with them where they drifted apart from each other but grew close to their cousin. That repaired itself when cousin Oliver left. They still talk to each other often, but I can't tell you about any dating habits because they haven't really developed any at this point."

"Understandable, considering their ages. Would you like to see my notes?"

"Would you mind?"

At this, Mr. Gryphin chuckled. "I'm the one who offered, aren't I?" He held the notes in front of Alice, and then they continued.

"I suppose it's my turn to ask questions. Do you mind if I call you Alice? It's so much friendlier than Ms. Nelson, and you seem like a friendly person." Alice turned to Mr. Soltek now.

"Of course you can call me Alice. You seem kind of nervous. Is there a problem?"

Mr. Soltek paused. "Before I start my round of questions, I just want you to know that I'm not making any assumptions about the Brady family. I've been a social worker for many years, and have worked with thousand of combined families. I've dealt with certain issues, especially in that type of family. I'm not saying that those issues apply to the Bradys, but they certainly have the classical structure for us to tackle these issues. All I'm saying is that -"

"Mr. Soltek, you're starting to make me nervous again." Alice cut him off. "Just ask me the question. It can't be as bad as you think."

Mr. Soltek took a deep breath. "Have you noticed any sexual tension between each pair of children?"

The room was silent for about five minutes until Alice finally whispered, "Yes." The others heard her despite the whisper.

"You have?" Mr. Soltek replied quietly.

"I've seen the way Greg and Marcia look at each other when they think no one else is paying attention. They've checked each other out when they thought that no one else was looking, and now that they share an apartment, I think they might be having an affair. Peter and Jan have so much friendship potential, but they've never really utilized it. I think they're aware of their mutual physical attraction and try to keep away from each other for that very reason. Bobby and Cindy are still innocent as far as I know, thank goodness. But now that they're teenagers, who knows?"

Alice hadn't whispered those statements, but she was still quiet, still embarrassed. She hadn't meant to blurt that out, but she had. And now she couldn't take it back or cover it up.

"Wow. That was...wow. Don't worry, Alice, we won't tell anyone or be judgmental about this. We're aware of many step-families that have this problem. And in every case I've seen, it's never been a matter of disgust."

And Alice believed Mr. Soltek when he said this. He was just as quiet as her, but he was honest.

"I'm afraid that this is primarily why we consulted you Ms. Nelson. You see, we wish to re-write some of the laws regarding marriage, particularly laws that define what incest is under marriage laws. However, we need specific scientific research to back up our statistics before we can commence. We were planning to use the Brady family as our test subjects, but we cannot let them be aware of the experiment. However, because you shall not be a test subject, we can inform you of the experiment as it commences and throughout the proceedings up to the final results, provided that you do not allow any member of the Martin-Brady family to become aware of the experiment."

"Are you serious, Ms. Alastar? Do you actually expect me to agree to this?"

"You may once you hear the rest of the details. This experiment will be launched with your express permission. You are not an official member of the family, but you are emotionally close enough to them to be considered as such. You will be one of the main members of the research team observing the family during the experiment, and will report on any changes in interaction between the members of each pair. If you believe that anything is getting too out of hand as far as observation or interference from others go, then you will have the authority to step in discreetly, again without the test subjects' awareness. If any of the test subjects approach you with a problem, you shall continue to play the role of mentor. You may neither encourage nor discourage any sexual behavior during the experiment, but do lend them your support, and let them know that you will always care about them no matter what happens, and not judge their actions. Can you agree to this?" Mr. Gryphin looked straight into her eyes as he outlined her part.

"I'm being given a lot of authority in this experiment, aren't I? I mean, it's also a lot of responsibility and allows very little room for slip-ups, but I think I can manage. As for the last part, I'd do that anyway. All right, where do I sign up?"

The three professionals breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at each other. Ms. Alastar went over the legal contracts and documents with Alice.

After they wrapped up their meeting, Alice left the post office and whistled a merry tune. Maybe this experiment would be the best thing to bring the Bradys closer together.


	2. Mirage Prize

It had been a week since Alice had attended that secret government meeting. She went about work as usual, and never mentioned anything about the meeting, even though the idea of being a secret agent excited her. The original letter had been discarded after the meeting, so there was no proof of the experiment. If anyone noticed Alice's giddy behavior, they didn't comment. They were just glad that she was happy. Everyone in the Brady household must always appear happy.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Alice went to answer it and was met by the mail woman. The same mail woman who had led her to the meeting, only now she was dressed in a business suit. She looked at Alice with a smile, and announced, "Congratulations, your family has just won a free 2-month vacation for 9 people to the Mirage Luxury Resort!" The woman was loud enough to make sure that the entire household had heard, and the stampede towards the front door was proof of her success. The four teenagers were yelling all at once in their excitement until Mike finally managed to calm them down. "All right kids, that's enough!" Why don't you let the lady finish?"

The woman just smiled and said, "That's all right, I'm from a large family myself. All I know is that the Mirage Luxury Resort is on a remote American island off the coast of California. I've been there on my honeymoon once, and I have to say, you are really lucky to have won this vacation. It's really a great resort. The rest of the vacation details should be in this package. Enjoy!" The woman finished off with a huge grin, but personally, her ears were still ringing. At least she got the job done. Nobody had noticed the package she had slipped to Alice because they were all clamoring over the prize package.

Alice simply smiled and waved the mail woman off, and hid the package in her room. By the time she had returned to the living room, the others had calmed down a bit. Carol was on the phone with Marcia, telling her the good news and inviting her and Greg on the vacation. After all, the package did say the vacation was for 9 people. It had to be the entire Brady bunch who would go, and neither Greg nor Marcia were enrolled in any summer courses.

Once Carol hung up, she yelled, "Oh my goodness, we're leaving in three days and we haven't started packing! What am I gonna wear? Let's see, there's that white summer dress, and that...". Carol rambled on and on about all of the clothes she'd need to bring as she walked up the stairs to the master bedroom.

"Guess we'd better pack too." Everyone agreed with Jan and went to their respective rooms to start packing. Cousin Oliver had returned to his parents about a month after Greg's graduation, and Mike had managed to hire a contractor to rebuild the attic soon afterwards. By Christmas, the attic had been converted into two bedrooms and a half-bathroom. Bobby and Cindy had gotten the attic, while Peter and Jan kept the original bedrooms. Everyone was much happier with this arrangement, because it gave each one a certain amount of privacy. Jan no longer complained about having too many siblings. She had her own room, and she only had to share the bathroom with Peter.

Unknown to the others, Alice had received news of the 'vacation' four days ago and had already packed accordingly. She just needed to put in a few more toiletries. While the others were packing, Alice was reading over her personal package for further details and instructions. She had just finished putting the package back into her hiding place when she heard someone yell, "Oh Alice! Could you come up here please?"

"Sure thing, Mrs. Brady."

* * *

According to the vacation package, a limo would arrive at the front door of the Brady residence at 10:00 A.M. on the morning of June 30. The limo would pick up the family and drive them to the docks, where a small ship would be waiting for them. The ship would transport them to Mirage Island. The ship would return to the island on the evening of August 1 to bring them back to California, and another limo would drive them back home. The strange thing was that there wasn't that much information about the island or resort included in the package.

Marcia and Greg had arrived at the Brady house the evening before, so that they could sleep over and not miss the limo in the morning. Everyone had to wake up at 6:00 in the morning to make sure that each person would be able to shower and still have their suitcases at the door on time. Nobody minded - it wasn't as if anyone could get much sleep, they were so excited.

The next morning, the limo trip and cruise had gone rather uneventfully. The limo driver and the captain of the cruise ship had both manged to give Alice a debriefing away from the rest of the family. The cruise ship had finally pulled into the bay of Mirage Island, and as the Bradys stepped onto the island, they could see why. Mirage Island was a tropical paradise with blooming flowers and fruit-bearing trees. A mist hung over everything. The island was extremely hot. As they hiked towards the center of the island, they took a break by a lake to cool off. There was a series of small waterfalls emptying into the lake, with a small cave behind each one. The Bradys then continued up a hill beside the lake, and at top of the hill stood a large mansion with three wings.

"We're finally here at the Mirage Island Resort. Sorry about the long hike, but we don't want to destroy the mirage with paved roads. I hope you understand." The guide led them through the front doors and towards the dining hall, where everyone immediately rushed towards the refreshments, and relaxed in the cool, airy room. In the middle of their snack, the manager of the resort stepped into the room. "Your suitcases have already arrived and been sent to your respective rooms. Once you're done, just let one of the bellhops know, and he or she will take you to your room. We'll meet back in the dining room at 8:00 in the evening for the grand tour after everyone has managed to take a shower and get some rest."

"I'm already done," announced Alice.

"In that case, I'll take you up to your room myself. The rest of you can just let a bellhop know once you're done eating. Have fun!"

The manager led Alice to her private bedroom and explained the layout of the house once they were behind the closed door. The main wing of the mansion would house the Bradys, each side wing would house the main staff (all of them agents), and the outer section of each side wing would have the research notes and equipment stored in them.

* * *

By the time 8:00 rolled around, sure enough, all of the adolescents had complaints about the sleeping arrangements. They were all shouting over one another to be heard. Finally, the manager had had enough and yelled. "QUIET! I know that the bedroom arrangement is unusual, and may even be considered unethical in some cases, but we only have 5 bedrooms in the main wing. We're known to be exclusive that way. I'm also aware of the fact that all of you are used to sharing a room with at least one other sibling, so you wouldn't enjoy doing so on a vacation. Our final solution was deciding on an age-based theme for decorating the rooms and assigning them. Each of you are sharing a room with the sibling closest in age to you. In this situation, everyone ended up with a sibling of the opposite gender. That was a coincidence. As for the beds themselves, there was only one room available with twin beds, and it wouldn't be fair to the others if one pair of you were assigned that room, which is why it went to none of you. It went to Alice. If for some reason, two of you have trouble sleeping in the same bed, arrange something else amongst yourselves, but do not switch places with anyone else. Any questions?"

The entire family just stood there with their mouths hanging open. Only Mike or Alice had ever managed to bring things under control in the family like that. Finally, they started mumbling that they supposed it was OK, that they could deal with it for two months.

"Excellent! We can begin the tour now. You should all be aware of the fact that we have just started our tour from the dining hall, which is located at the far right of the central wing. The right wing starts at the kitchen, which is staffed 24/7. Feel free to call up room service - it's being charged back to the resort. Never enter the kitchens though; they are strictly off-limits to guests. Right now, we are in the main hall where the main checking and information counters are located. All the phones are on a private grid and the number for the lobby phone number is listed in a directory located in each bedroom. The directory also includes the room service number which rings up to the kitchen phone. The only phones not listed are the bedroom phones. Your number is labeled on the phone. No calls can be made to the outside and you are not allowed to exchange bedroom phone numbers with anyone else. If you want to talk to each other, go to the room and knock on the door, or arrange a meeting somewhere. Two people sharing a room is an obvious exception.

On the other side of the lobby is the sitting room and fireplace. The fireplace is just for show. The gift shop is next to the sitting room and signifies the far left of the main wing. The storage room attached to the gift shop is in the left wing. The storage room is also off-limits. One special feature of the gift shop is that it also offers pick-up and delivery services. You can either come down to place an order or do it over the phone. You will be given a special order number that you have to show to the bellhop or register clerk in order to receive your package. Each order is placed in a nondescript box so there's no way anyone else can guess at the contents.

Now if we return to the sitting room, you'll notice that there's a back door. This door leads to a shortcut that will bring you to a beautiful lake and multiple waterfalls. The tour guide who brought you to the resort had mentioned stopping there, so you all know how wonderful it is. There's a map of the shortcut in each room, as well as a resort brochure and a gift shop catalog. This concludes our tour. Good night, everyone!"


	3. First Night

When coming from the stairs, Greg and Marcia's room was on the left end of the hall at the left-hand side. When looking in from the doorway, the bed was pushed up against the center of the left wall, and the entrance to their private bathroom was on the right. The entire bedroom was decorated in crimson and black with a gothic painting on the wall above the bed and on the side wall where the window was. The moment the door slammed behind them, Greg slammed Marcia onto the door, and they started making out wildly. They started undressing each other without breaking their lips apart. Marcia grabbed onto Greg's shoulders for leverage, then jumped up and wrapped her shapely legs around his waist. He then proceeded to carry her to the bed and fell down on top of her amongst the crimson silk. When they finally came up for air, Greg jumped off Marcia, ran to the black marble bathroom, and ran back with a condom so they could continue with their activities under the watchful eyes and ears of the hidden cameras and sound recorders.

Jan and Peter were across the hall from Greg and Marcia. Their room was decorated in dark green and light gold. The dark green walls had golden swirls all over them, and the bed on the right had an old-fashioned gold metal headboard and footboard, dark green silk sheets with golden pillows and a comforter with the same pattern as the walls. The bedstand beside it was made of dark green marble with gold trimming, and an old-fashioned golden rotary phone was on it. There were letters, novel covers, and newspaper and magazine photo and article clippings framed and scattered sparingly around the room. The most unique feature was the golden mirrored ceiling. The bathroom on the left was made of dark green marble and green-and-gold swirled marble flooring, with golden faucets, towel racks, soap dishes, and other accessory fixtures. For once, it seemed that the middle Bradys had inherited the better luck and ended up getting one of the best bedrooms in the entire mansion. Right now, the two of them just stood in the middle of the room staring in awe around them. They had been the last ones to finish eating before and never really got a chance to take a good look at their room.

Alice's bedroom was next to Jan and Peter's, and it faced the stairway. The room was decorated in a cream and canary color scheme with no discernible theme or pattern. The twin beds had pale yellow cotton sheets on them, and the furniture was made of dark wood. The phone on the bedstand was an average beige dial-tone phone. The cream-colored bathroom on the right connected her room to Mike and Carol's room. Their room was decorated in the same standard scheme, only in white instead of canary. The room was the same as Alice's except it had light wooden furniture. The most unique feature was the canopy bed with white silk sheets and gauzy white drapes. Mike and Carol simply changed into their nightclothes, slipped into bed, pecked each other goodnight, and promptly fell asleep.

Bobby and Cindy's room was across the hall from Mike and Carol's room. When looking in from the doorway, one could see a queen-sized bed pushed up against the center of the right wall, and a dial-tone phone on the bedstand next to it. The entrance to the room's private bathroom was on the left side of the room. The room was painted neon blue, the bedspread was a purple and blue tie-dye pattern with matching pillows and quilt, and the furniture was painted neon purple. The phone on the bedstand was blue with purple buttons and blue numbers. There were two similar blue and purple abstract painting on the wall above the bed and the wall by the window. Apparently the hotel had opted for a colorful '60s theme. The bathroom followed a more neutral tone of the same color scheme, opting for lavender walls, light blue marble bathroom fixtures, and lavender and sky blue marble tiling on the floors. The shower curtain was a transparent version of the bedspread and seemed out of place in the bathroom.

Both teens looked at the bed, then at each other. "I'm used to sleeping by the window. If we share, I get the right side of the bed." Cindy looked to Bobby for his response. "Fine with me. I'm used to sleeping by the door anyway."

"Then that's settled. I'll go change in the bathroom and you can change here. I'll knock before coming out."

"No way! What if someone walks in on me from the hallway?"

"There's a lock on the door. Didn't you notice it before?"

"Not really. Show me, Miss Smarty-pants." Cindy rolled her eyes, walked over to the door, faced Bobby with one hand on her hip, waved at the lock with the other like a show-model, locked the door while still grinning at Bobby, then sashayed past him, swept up her nightgown with one hand, and slammed the bathroom door behind her with the other. At the sound of the door, Bobby snapped out of his daze and started changing.

Peter and Jan had finally snapped out of their awe-induced state and were arguing over their sleeping arrangements.

"I get the bed because I'm the girl! A true gentleman would concede and take the floor!"

"That's completely stupid and old-fashioned! That kind of logic may work on someone like Greg, but it won't work on me! Women's lib, remember? Deal with it!"

"Since when am I vocal about women's lib? I'm not Marcia! How dare you compare me to Marcia! You, of all people, should know better!" On and on their argument went, until a cold chill suddenly swept across them and settled over the room. The yelling suddenly ceased as the two started to shudder and rub their arms.

"Is it me or did it suddenly get cold in here?"

"It suddenly got cold in here. Man, am I freezing! And I only brought my thin pajamas along."

"Same here. Just the flimsy nightgowns and PJs. And the floor only has two small rugs. The marble is freezing."

"I guess neither of us can sleep on the floor then. We'll both get sick if we don't have a warm mattress and quilt."

"Right. Who gets to decide who sleeps on which side? I'm not particular."

"Neither am I. We'll decide after we change. Speaking of which, I can't stand this floor much longer!"

"Neither can I. But there's only two rugs - one on each side of the bed. The only two ways of changing without standing on the marble is either on the side of the bed or under the covers."

"Darn! All right, we'll grab our nightclothes, and rush to one side of the bed. We'll face away from each other, change quickly, toss the clothes towards the suitcase, and jump into our side of the bed. That'll be the sleeping arrangement from then on."

"What if we run to the same side?"

"I hope we don't. If we do, there'll be a rematch."

"Fair enough. But don't peek while I'm changing, Peter!"

"I'm not a pervert, Jan! All right now. On your mark, get set, go!"

The two teens ran to the suitcases and back. Jan had ended up on the left by the door, and Peter was on the right by the window. They both changed quickly, tossed their clothes onto the suitcases at the exact same time, and crawled into bed. Once they were under the comforters, they lay rigidly on their backs, said goodnight, and tried to sleep while ignoring each other's physical proximity in the bed.

Mike and Carol were snoring away peacefully by now, and Alice took this chance to check up on the kids using the special master key she had been provided with. She checked Greg and Marcia's room last, and was shocked to see them tangled together in the nude, snoring softly, but quickly got over it, shook her head slightly, and closed the door and relocked it. At least one set of test subjects could have their actions confirmed, and the team would know what to study regarding them.


	4. Unusual Start

The next sun rose calm with a cool breeze, nothing at all like the tropical swelter the combined clan had experienced the afternoon before. The dawn reflected well on the mood of the elder half of the Bradys, but not necessarily on the younger pairs. Mike and Carol had slept in contentment all throughout the night. Greg and Marcia's vigorous activity had allowed their bodies to slumber well and replenish. Bobby had started off going to bed slightly annoyed at Cindy's smart-aleck behavior, and slightly annoyed at himself for noticing the way her hips move when she sashays. He had positioned himself to face away from his step-sister before falling asleep. Imagine his surprise when he woke up with his arm wrapped around a warm body, long fingers pressed gently against the back of his hand, and long, soft curls nestled against his chest. It was a pleasant feeling to awaken to, but as soon as he realized whose curls were against his chest, that warm fuzzy feeling became distempered with confusion. What was he doing sleeping in the same bed as Cindy with his arm wrapped around her?

He soon remembered the lock display from the night before, and was about to pull away from her when she started to stir against him. He froze immediately as she turned around in his grasp, sleepily blinked open her china-doll eyes, and whispered, "Morning, Bobby." Whatever remnants of animosity he had retained from the night before had dissipated in that moment. She seemed so different from that instance - so sweet and innocent. It took her a moment to register her own greeting. "Bobby? What are you doing here?"

"We're on vacation. We've been assigned to the same bed, remember?"

"Oh yeah. I almost forgot." She gave a sleepy sigh, which triggered one from Bobby. They both stayed in that position on the bed for a while, until Bobby removed his arm from Cindy's waist. They were both surprised at themselves for acutely feeling the loss of contact, but neither one noticed the other outwardly registering anything. Bobby was the first one to go to the bathroom, and Cindy lay there waiting for her turn. That's what she does in the attic, instead of standing and waiting impatiently. They both went through their regular morning routine, this time Bobby changing in the bathroom, and went downstairs for breakfast.

Peter and Jan had started off the night lying as far away from each other on the bed as possible. Throughout the night, they had drifted closer together in their sleep. As the sun rose and it's light streamed through their window, it illuminated a young man and woman curled up together underneath a quilt, the tips of their noses barely brushing together, and their soft breaths intermingling.

Jan's nightgown had ridden halfway up her legs in her movement, giving her enough mobility to swing her leg up and wrap it around Peter's waist, with her leg resting against his pant leg. Peter's leg had gradually swung forward and rested between Jan's legs. One of his hands rested gently against the bottom of her breasts, which were squeezed up against his chest, and her hand held his tightly against that spot, pushing his hand slightly upwards to nestle further in. His other arm was wrapped tightly around her waist, and her arm rested on his, her hand lightly resting on the side of his shoulder.

Both sets of lashes fluttered opened at the same time, and blue met brown in a hazy stare. The quilt suddenly became too warm as the haziness evaporated and a blush formed on the faces of each one. Yet neither one could pull away. The fit felt too comfortable, but in an agreeable way, and the circumstances to bring them into this hug of limbs were innocent enough. Besides, his arms were strong and hers were soft. His fingers were delicate and hers were strong yet soft. His chest was broad and muscular, and her breasts were round and soft. The bulge in his pants was big and nestled nicely against the heat of her core... and that was what gave them the incentive to break apart suddenly.

The lazy warmth in their eyes had flickered out to be replaced by embarrassment. Both Jan and Peter were breathing quickly, faces red and hearts pounding in their chests, just staring at each other. Neither one said anything. Neither one needed to. A cool wind passed through the room, flushing the heat from their cheeks, and both went about their morning routine. They didn't face each other as they changed on the rugs, and they were silent taking their turns in the bathroom. As they walked down to breakfast, neither one spoke to the other but both were wondering the same thing. Why had they changed in the same room at the same time, and why did that particular routine feel ingrained in them?

Both were so lost pondering that question on their way down, that neither had noticed that the window in their room was shut when the chill came in from last night, and the breeze from this morning. Jan's feet didn't notice one of the steps, and her mind only noticed when she started stumbling. Peter took notice when he heard Jan's yelp, and his hand quickly grabbed hers and pulled her back against his side as he helped her recover her balance.

They were still recovering from the shock of the near-accident, and the shock that ran through them when their hands first made contact, that they both jumped and nearly had another accident on the stairs when Alice called out from the top of the stairway. "Are you kids all right? It looked like Jan was about to have a little tumble back there."

The teens turned around slowly. "I'm all right. Peter saved me." She didn't look at Alice as she said this, but at Peter. "Well, as long as you're all right, you'd better get off those stairs and onto some dining chairs. It's nearly time for breakfast, you know." Peter broke their staring contest and turned to Alice. "Of course. See you at breakfast then."

Alice watched them as they went down the stairs leaning into each other's side, arm slung around one another. They didn't feel her stare. Alice went back inside her room, took note of the middle children's change in behavior, and came down for breakfast herself.

Jan and Peter had reached the bottom of the stairs before Alice had finished her notes, and disentangled themselves once they had reached the foot of the stairs. The strange thing was, they weren't really aware of anything that occurred after Peter had grabbed Jan's hand and were startled when they had found themselves holding on to each other. They walked towards the dining room side by side in silence, and didn't notice the staff member crouched on the other side of the stairs, observing the two of them closely from a distance.

* * *

The large rectangular breakfast table in the dining hall had been set with nine places, and each place had a name labeled on it. The middle of the table was spread with waffles, French toast, omelets, bagels, peanut butter, cream cheese, jam, fresh mixed berries, and pitchers of milk, orange juice, and ice water. Alice's place was at the head of the table, with Jan and Peter seated on each side of her. Bobby and Cindy were seated next to Jan and Peter. Greg and Marcia were seated next to them, and Carol and Mike were at the other end of each side of the table. Aside from Alice, the pattern was that each person was seated across from their counterpart, but was sitting next to a person of the opposite gender on each side of them, so that the arrangement wouldn't seem too conspicuous.

Mike, Carol, Greg and Marcia started heaping the delicious food onto their plates immediately. Bobby and Cindy piled food onto their plates quietly. Jan and Peter were slow in their movements, and put very little on their plates. Alice watched all of them calmly, and waited until everyone had collected their first helping. Alice did this partly out of habit, and partly so that she could observe the six teens unhindered. She noticed that Marcia and Greg had finished the huge pile on their plates quickly and were quick to refill on seconds. She just gave a soft, secret smile; it was obvious that they were famished after the rigorous activity from the night before.

She gave a soft sigh as her eyes moved on to Bobby and Cindy. Alice would give anything to be young again. At least she never lost her energy from when she was 20 - just her looks. The two youngest teens were sitting there eating quietly. Nothing unusual about that, Alice mused. They're not so loud at the table now that they've matured a bit. The soft smile was still pasted on her face. That smile turned upside down when her eyes finally rested on Jan and Peter. Both of them were stirring their breakfasts around on their plates to make it seem as if they were eating, but Alice knew better. She wasn't their housekeeper all those years for nothing.

Before Alice could comment on it, Rhonda came in to provide her customary greeting. "Good morning, Bradys. I hope the breakfast we've catered is to your liking." Murmurs of agreement rose from the table. "Excellent. And I'm sure everyone had a good night's rest." At this, half the table fell silent, but Greg and Marcia answered in the affirmative for them.

"Did any of you kids have trouble with the sleeping arrangements afterwards?" All six shook their heads, the oldest two a little too eagerly. The manager didn't miss this, but chose not to comment. "Wonderful! Now, if everyone is finished with their breakfast, we can commence a tour of the upstairs. We forgot to cover that yesterday because it was too late in the evening, but we can do that right now. Remember, the rules I went over yesterday still apply."

Greg and Marcia panicked at this. They had forgotten to air out their room and clean up the evidence. Now the rest of the family would be on to them! "Um... I haven't finished eating. I'm just so hungry, and the food's so delicious. How about we do the tour later?" Greg was attempting to stall for time.

"I'm glad you loved the food dear, but there isn't any left on the table." Sure enough, the plates and pitchers in the middle of the table were empty. "Why don't we just finish off the tour right now? You can call up the kitchen and get some more breakfast later. The directory is in the top drawer of the nightstand." So much for stalling.

The entire group went up the stairs, Greg and Marcia trailing behind them. The manager led them towards the right. Greg and Marcia breathed a sigh of relief. She opened the door on the right. "This is Bobby and Cindy's room. The entire group walked in and peeked around the bedroom and bathroom.

"How come Bobby and Cindy get their own bathroom, and Carol and I have to share one with Alice?" Mike frowned. He was used to having several rooms of his own.

"Well Mr. Brady, only three of the bedroom suites have their own bathroom. The other two are connected to each other by the fourth bathroom. The same principle that applied to the bed arrangement applied here. It wouldn't be fair if one pair of the kids got their own bathroom while another pair didn't. It is also a consolation for being forced to share a hotel room with a sibling, a consolation that you don't need." The manager was firm on the last part, and this stopped any protests Mike might have had.

"The color scheme of this room is suited to children anyway, Mr. Brady."

"I suppose you're right Alice."

"Now that we've seen Bobby and Cindy's room, let's move on to the parents' room." She ushered them out, closed the door behind her, and opened the door across the hall. No one in the group was very impressed with the room, but the girls spent a lot of time observing the canopy bed. The guys spared a few glances towards the bed but tried not to look interested.

"We'll just go through the bathroom to get to Alice's room." The look through the bathroom and Alice's room lasted less than five minutes combined. Once they left through the main door in Alice's room, the manager led them across the hall. She slowly turned the knob as Greg and Marcia held their breath. The knob stuck and the manager gently pushed against the door. Nothing happened. "It seems to be stuck. I guess I'll have to fix that problem later." Marcia and Greg exhaled. Just as Rhonda turned away from the door, it opened. A maid held the door open with one hand and pushed a cleaning cart out with the other. "Sorry about that. Just finished cleaning up. You can go in now."

The group stepped into the room and started exploring again. At least this room was as interesting as Bobby and Cindy's. Greg and Marcia noticed the neatly made bed and the fresh scent in the air. They also noticed the crimson floor in the bathroom, and the smoothness of it reminded them of blood for some strange reason.

"Greg and Marcia have received the Gothic room. It's not necessarily an age theme, but I think that it suits their age better than it would Jan or Peter. Besides, the colors complement them beautifully. It seems to bring out the hidden naughtiness of their nature. Just joking! But seriously, red and black suit the two of you well."

Finally, Rhonda led them out of the room and into the final bedroom. Everyone's breath was taken away at the first sight of this one. "How come we didn't get this room?" Marcia demanded.

"It was a random draw. The final decision was to let Jan and Peter have this room. Is there a problem with the room you have?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Yes?"

Marcia shut up immediately, her face red. She couldn't complain to the manager without sounding like a spoiled brat instead of the mature woman that she was.

"Oh my goodness! Would you look at that?" Everyone turned towards where Carol was pointing and let out a collective gasp.

The painting above the bed was a portrait of an attractive young couple that looked eerily similar to Peter and Jan. The woman seemed pregnant, and the man had his arms wrapped around her waist from behind. The woman's simple white gown and the man's crisp white dress shirt gave no indication of when the portrait was painted, but it was apparent that it was painted long before the invention of the camera.

How had Peter and Jan failed to notice that portrait before? No one could have overlooked a coincidence of that degree. The man's hair was curlier than Peter's soft waves, and the woman's hair was a golden blonde as opposed to Jan's silver blonde, but other than that the features were identical.

Suddenly, Marcia was glad that she didn't get this particular room. The moment she looked at the painting, a cold chill ran down her spine. She didn't know why, but the woman's eyes seemed to be gazing at her with hatred.

Everyone looked at the portrait, then Jan and Peter, who were standing next to each other at the foot of the bed, then back at the portrait, then back at Jan and Peter, then back at the portrait, then at the bed, then back at Jan and Peter, then back at the bed, then at the bulge in the woman's stomach. Everyone suddenly became uncomfortable. Mike and Carol were beginning to realize for the first time in a long time that Jan and Peter weren't blood-related.

The manager was standing next to Carol and saw the look of realization beginning to dawn. That's when she decided to break the silence before the implications could fully set in. "That's an amazing coincidence. We had no idea what the two of you would look like. But I guess it's just luck that allowed us to put you in this room. We've already seen the bathroom, so we can go down now and hike around the estate."


End file.
